Behind The Porno–Director Jacky St. James Talks About New Sensations’ “The Sexual Liberation of Anna Lee”

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AVN Award-winning writer/director Jacky St. James helmed "The Sexual Liberation of Anna Lee"--a truly remarkable tale of a woman seeking treatment for her frigidity and what she learns about herself along the way.  It's a very sexy, sexy feature and it just received an AVN Editor's Choice.  I can't recommend owing this one enough.  It's sensational for couples and just fine for stroking to alone.  There is so much here to recommend it as I am sure you can see from the trailer. Here is St.James with more on this incredible DVD/VOD release.

What made you decide to cast Maddy O’Reilly in the lead?

I directed Maddy O’Reilly in a scene for a film called, Power and Control a few years ago and always felt that she fully embodied that good girl/bad girl quality in real life. She’s very sweet, soft-spoken, a polite, southern girl. Sexually though, she transforms into this force. She’s got this spark, this heat, this passion that you don’t always see when she’s just hanging out. I wrote the part specifically for Maddy for that very reason. I find her dualities fascinating and what she represents makes for a great story.

Did you plan to cast yourself as the doctor who refers O’Reilly to India Summer and Steven St. Croix’s place?

I always make a cameo in the features I write or direct. I guess you could say I’m “Alfred Hitchcocking”. My cameos have become a tradition, but also – if there’s a non-sex role in any film I write, I typically take it on for one reason only- because I don’t charge an extra fee for dialogue. Using me keeps the costs down.

I thought that Xander Corvus was amazing here as a man who simultaneously feared and craved true intimacy with a woman. Is he intended to be a mirror for a male viewer watching this or is he based off of something else?

Actually no. I would never want to make that kind of statement about an entire gender. Xander’s character, Emmett is more or less a mirror for Maddy. She sees in him, what she wants to change in herself. At the core of it, they’re both ultimately dealing with the same root issue – an inability to be vulnerable in their own truth. So, while they have gone about dealing with that in different ways, they can relate to that part of one another. The difference lies in the fact that Maddy’s character decides to, as India says, “jump off that cliff,” in her own process of healing – whereas, Xander’s character climbs down the cliff slowly and tentatively. They both can benefit from one another in their process towards becoming sexually free because they are that mirror for one another.

What order did you shoot the scenes in? Did it mirror O’Reilly’s characters progression sexually from frigid to vibrant?

We seldom have the luxury of shooting anything in order because location and talent availability dictates what needs to be shot and when. Surprisingly, the very first scene we shot was the final scene where Xander arrives at Maddy’s house and they end up having sex. Making sure the talent is fully aware of where their characters are emotionally within the scope of the story, is one of the responsibilities of the director. It was a fun challenge with The Sexual Liberation of Anna Lee because Maddy’s character goes through such a progression and I needed to constantly stay on top of where she was within the scope of the story as we shot. You don’t want to arrive at the editing bay and realize that the performances don’t make sense when cut together in order. So, day one was certainly a fun challenge. It required that both Maddy and Xander bring their most confident and vulnerable performances that day – and then we worked backwards from there.

What can you share about the dungeon scene where O’Reilly’s senses are pushed to her sensory limits?

I wanted to create a scene where Maddy’s character had completely surrendered to the process. Where she welcomed anything that came at her…and where she subsequently enjoyed it. This is the first time we see Maddy, in the company of others, where she is responding to the pleasure of a hand that isn’t her own. Where she exhibits unabashed trust in both others and in herself. I had researched ways in which this could be accomplished and I’d gone over a variety of scenarios in my mind – even skipping this one altogether and jumping right into her scene with Xander, but that would have undermined her character’s entire journey to do that. This was about Anna taking control of her own sexuality and really allowing herself to be pleasured without any emotional entanglements. I loved every moment of shooting this scene.

Why did you choose to have India Summer and Steven St. Croix play brother and sister?

They have been lovers on-screen in a lot of other productions. India and Steven’s characters represent the freedom that Maddy was in pursuit of. They are open, while she is closed. I felt that India and Steven would present less of a threat to Maddy if they weren’t tied to one another in an emotional, sexual relationship. I didn’t want to stress that “a loving relationship” is the end goal of the story. I wanted to stress the importance of autonomy and sexual freedom – which India and Steven both possessed. As brother and sister they also were able to provide Maddy with the support she needed in her own healing. Couples working as a team can at times be intimidating. I wanted Maddy to trust both because there were no ties to each other, there was no “us verses you.” Every single person in this film is autonomous, which is an important theme in the story. This is represented in the last shot of the film, in which Maddy and Xander are not “cuddling” in the traditional sense, post sex. Instead they are laying in opposite directions on the bed in an intimate fashion. I wanted to drive home the fact that you can be autonomous and in love – and that we are whole whether we are single or attached.

The bondage and BDSM in this seems to be an excellent tool for O’Reilly being freed from her sexual problems. How did O’Reilly and Corvus respond to these implements being used to help tell Anna Lee’s story?

Maddy was particularly excited for the St. Andrew’s cross scene because it required her to be as vulnerable as her character. It was the first time she had ever done something like that – which was incredibly exhilarating to watch from a director’s perspective. All of the cast interactions with her were a surprise to Maddy so she went into full on sensory overload – especially given she was blindfolded for the duration of the scene. It was fascinating to watch her respond to the wax, the fruits, the whip, the kisses, the vibrator without any expectation.  Xander, like Maddy was enthusiastic about the entire project from start to finish. I really had a beautiful team of people to work with on this film.

What is coming up for you?

I’m continuing to direct more fauxcest for the Tabu Tales line for Digital Sin (which includes my very first girl/girl release) and I also have a feature film releasing that I co-directed with Eddie Powell called, Second Chances starring Carter Cruise, Chad White, Brendon Miller, Jessa Rhodes, Logan Pierce, and Allie Haze. It’s like Sixteen Candles meets Mean Girls meets Family Guy.

Anything you want to say to the porn fans at Fleshbot?

If there’s anything else you’d like to know, come find me on my website: missjackystjames.com. I’ve got a question submission form and I love hearing from fans of the adult industry!

All images with this interview appear here courtesy of New Sensations.  Go buy this movie!